Certain applications require the use of a threaded nut positioned on an elongated threaded rod at a distance from an end of the threaded rod. The most common approach to positioning the threaded nut on the rod is to place the nut onto the rod at one end and then rotate the nut along the threaded rod until it reaches the desired position. Such a task is frequently done manually and is often time consuming and tedious. Additionally, difficulties may be encountered if the threaded rod has a bend over which the nut cannot be rotated.
One prior art approach is to use a split or two piece nut such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,164 to Carter and U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,266 to Nagayoshi, et al. Each unit of the split nut has a threaded interior and overlapping ends that engage each other to form a complete nut securely fastened about the threaded rod. One difficulty with such nuts is that each unit needs to have the proper threaded interior to match its opposing unit. Furthermore, the two halves can easily be lost or misplaced and difficult to handle due to their small size.
Another approach uses a nut with an opening sufficient to allow the nut to snap onto the threaded shaft at the desired location as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,144 to Ginter and U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,261 to Wright, III. In each of these prior art patents, the nuts act as a stop on a threaded shaft and requires an extra mechanism to ensure that the threaded nut is securely retained in its position on the threaded shaft. More particularly, the Ginter stop nut includes a set screw to tighten the nut in place and ensure that the threads on the nut and the shaft engage. A spring loaded ball detent is used in the Wright patent to retain the nut on the threaded shaft. Such threaded nuts with small components are difficult to manufacture.
Therefore, what is needed is a unibody, internally threaded nut that can be readily snapped onto a threaded rod so at to be coaxially centered so that the threads on the rod engage those on the nut.